Headaches and facial pain

Headache and facial pain often occur in the same person. The chewing muscles extend up to the temples, and their pain can feel like a headache. In turn, a migraine can be felt in the jaw or the teeth.

When it is linked to the jaw

• pain at the temples or forehead, especially in the morning, in people who clench or grind
• headache that gets worse with chewing, talking or jaw movement
• headache together with pain in front of the ear, clicking or tired jaws

The international classification of headache even describes a “headache attributed to temporomandibular disorder”. In these cases, treating the TMJ disorder and bruxism improves the headache too.

Migraine and tension-type headache

Migraine and tension-type headache are the most common primary headaches. They are not caused by the jaw, but they can be aggravated by a TMJ disorder, bruxism or poor sleep, and sometimes they are felt in the face. We assess them as part of the differential diagnosis and treat the orofacial side, and work with the neurologist on migraine treatment.

Warning signs

Seek urgent medical care if a headache is sudden and very severe, unlike your usual ones, or comes with fever, a stiff neck, weakness on one side of the body, problems with vision or speech, confusion, or follows a head injury.

How we help

• we listen and look at the pattern of your headaches; the pain diary from the consultation is very useful
• we examine the muscles, joints and neck
• we treat the orofacial side: self-care, exercises, a splint, medication, injections when indicated
• we refer you to the neurologist when your headache needs their assessment or treatment